


Of Hunters and Kelpies

by blueraven06



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Creature Castiel (Supernatural), Hunter Dean Winchester, Hunter Sam Winchester, Impala is a horse, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-02
Updated: 2020-05-02
Packaged: 2021-03-01 19:35:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 10,650
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23512486
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blueraven06/pseuds/blueraven06
Summary: On his way to find Sam a new horse, Dean stumbled on a black horse with deep-blue eyes. Thinking he could make a good colt for Sam, the older brother captures the horse and bring him back home. But the next day it's a stranger with raven hair and blue eyes that Dean finds in the stable.
Relationships: Castiel/Dean Winchester
Comments: 4
Kudos: 24
Collections: Perfect Pair Bang 2020 (Official)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I am excited to finally post this fanfiction. Huge thanks to my wonderful artist Hectatess and my amazing beta fangirlingtodeath513

They were attacking some ghoul when Sam’s horse got injured. It collapsed, and Sam almost got the same treatment. Because of that, Dean was riding his horse, Impala, on his way to get another one for Sam.

Yet Destiny decided otherwise. Near the lake named Sarnen, a black horse was quenching it's thirst. Dean observed it. It could make an excellent steed. Maybe he won’t have to go all the way to Bobby after all.

He considered Bobby to be his uncle, but it was too early for a lesson about how they should be more careful with their horses.

Dean got off his horse, picked out a harness from his bag, and tiptoed towards the black horse. Straight away, it turned it’s head and observed him. It had vivid blue eyes, an unusual feature for horses, which made it even more prized.

Stopping, the hunter hesitated for a second, though the horse didn’t seem worried by him at all. In fact, it walked right toward Dean, who put his hand in front of himself, as if to prove he didn’t mean it any harm. The horse came so close to him that he could reach out and touch it. Cautiously, Dean placed the harness.

Astonished, he stared at the horse for a moment. After realising what happened, Dean tried to get back onto Impala, but she started walking away, refusing to let Dean or the new horse get any closer.

“Baby, what’s going on?” asked Dean, curious about his horse’s behaviour. “Come on, no need to be afraid.”

She stepped back, still as wary as before. Once she finally agreed to come forward, Dean got back on her.

On the way to his home, Dean looked behind him. The new horse was following without protest.

* * *

Once he arrived, Dean put the horse in the empty stable. Giddy, he went searching around for Sam. He found him, reading a book as always.

Seeing his brother like this gave Dean a splendid idea. He approached him on his tiptoes, trying not to make a noise.

“Aaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!” Shouted Sam in a high-pitched voice when he felt hands on his shoulders. His first reaction was to close his book and hit the intruder in the face with it. His second was to look at said intruder, who had fallen on the floor. Dean was the last person he expected to see.  
“Dean? Why are you here?” he asked.

“Hello. How are you? I’m sorry I hit you with a book. Is this any way to greet your dear brother?”

“You scared me! And shouldn’t you be at Bobby’s? Or did he beat your ass?”

“Hilarious, Sam. No, something awesome happened.”

“What did you do this time?” asked Sam, suspicious.

“You remember the Sarnen Lake? Well, there was a horse near it and I brought it home.”

Sam stared at his brother’s face, attempting to find any confirmation that he was lying. A mischievous grin, a mocking glance. None of that. Instead, he looked delighted with himself.

“It’s not a joke! You captured a horse. You captured a wild horse instead of buying one from Bobby! How are we going to train it?”

“He seems to be trained already. He let it happen.”

“Even better! You stole a horse!” Sam couldn’t believe it. He should have done it himself, even if it meant walking.

“Calm down. I can check tomorrow if someone knows him, but you should at least try riding him. If it doesn’t work between the two of you, I can always buy you a new one.”

“If you want,” Sam says with a sigh. “You already captured it, why not give it a chance?”

“Awesome!” Dean said like it was the greatest news of his life. “Anyway, did you discover anything new about the case?”

“Yeah, I have an idea of their position. I’ll show you while we eat.”  
Dean nodded, and the brothers went to their dining room while chatting.

* * *

Since that afternoon, Baby was nervous. She didn’t trust the other horse. Something about him made her jump out of her skin. Now odd noises were coming from the other stable. She had been watching it, engrossed, expecting something to happen. All of a sudden, a hand grabbed the blanket that was laying down on the top of the door. Rushing, the hand disappeared a few seconds after.

* * *

  
The next morning, Dean was walking to the stable where the new horse was, saddle on his shoulder.  
Once inside, he froze. The horse. He was nowhere to be seen. Instead, there was a man with brown, almost black hair and blue eyes, curled up under a horse blanket.

Hesitantly, the stranger smiled and said, “Hello?” That was enough to get Dean out of his stupor.

“Who are you?” shouted Dean as he got his sword out.

“Castiel?” answered the stranger.

Irritated by his answer, the hunter stretched out his hand and snatched the blanket away and tossed it. Naked. Naked under a blanket, this Castiel guy was in his stable instead of the horse.

Once Castiel draped himself again under the blanket, Dean grabbed his arm and dragged him out.

“Sam! We have a problem!” He could sense the other man struggling, but he didn’t care. They will have a lot of questions for him.  
Sam arrived quickly, sword in hand. His eyes widened at the sight of his brother and the stranger.

“Who is this?”

“He said his name’s Castiel. I found him in our stable. Oh, and the horse is gone.” said Dean, enraged, pushing Castiel in front of him.

“Wait. How did he get in the stable?”

“That’s a good question. And it’s not the only one I have for him.”

“Is he naked?” asked the younger brother while examining Castiel. “Give him some of your clothes before we take him inside.”

“Mine? Why not yours?”

“Dean, I’m too big. This poor guy will disappear in them.”

“Sam...”

“You’re not going to interrogate someone naked!”  
Irritated, Dean grabbed the stranger’s arm and dragged him to the bedroom.

* * *

Dean was sitting in the dining room, staring at the wall in front of him, thinking about what had happened.

“Are you okay?” Sam asked after a few minutes, breaking the silence.

“I just gave my clothes to a guy we found naked in the stable, what do you think?”  
The brothers looked at each other and chuckled at the same time.

“That was not something I thought I would ever say,” Dean said, still chuckling. “What are we going to do with him?”

“If he doesn’t have clothes, then he doesn’t have a home or food. We should let him sleep here.”

“Let him sleep here? Because of him, the horse is gone!”

“We don’t know if that was his intention.”

“You know what you are, Sam? Too kind.” The older brother looked at Sam, groaning. “All right. But one condition: we always keep an eye on him.”

“If you—” Sam stopped as he heard the door behind him opening.


	2. Chapter 2

It wasn’t the first time someone had captured Castiel. Everyone always reacted the same way after discovering him in his human form in their stable: they kicked him out. And in the rare times that people let him stay, he took off as soon as he could.

He stared at the clothes, unaware of what to do. No one had ever provided him with their clothes, even when people let him stay. The clothes were old and used. Castiel isn’t used to putting on clothes since he passes most of his time in his horse forms.

I could stay for once, he thought while picking up a shirt that was lying on the floor. The one called Sam seemed sympathetic. He could try showing the other one—Dean, he thinks—that he doesn’t mean them any harm.

Pants in hand, he stopped that line of thinking. His family would look for him at some point. They will insist he return, and God knows what would happen to those men.

Castiel sighed as he finished getting dressed. It would be nice to have a place he could call home, but that won’t happen anytime soon. He searched around him for anything that could help him get out of the home as discreetly as possible.

There was a window on the wall in front of him, so Castiel approached it and grabbed onto the handle. However, the moment he tried to open it, he could feel his hand burning.  
Struggling to keep his cries of pain quiet, the young man looked down at his hand. The skin was red, dry, and sore.

“What is...” he began, then stopped. He was more than likely in the house of a witch. He grimaced at that idea. He didn’t want to wind up in whatever potion or spell those witches would need him for.

It was better than hunters, at least. They could be peaceful witches and maybe nothing awful would happen to him.

Since the sleeves were a little too long for him, he pulled them over his hands, effectively hiding them.

Reluctantly, he left the room and stared at all of the doors in the corridor. Which one are the witches behind? Putting his ear to the door closest to him, he listened for something, anything.

He moved to the next one and this time there was a voice on the other side. They were speaking about him.

He didn’t know what to do. Was it a harmless idea to go into that room? He should be vigilant, yet these men had let him enter their home and had even given him clothes.  
Gathering his bravery, Castiel opened the door in one swift movement.

* * *

As he came into the room, Castiel immediately regretted it. Sam and Dean were both studying him.

“I’m sorry. I should have remained in my room,” he said, trying to explain himself. As he opened the door to leave, he heard someone cough behind him.

“Don’t worry about that. It would be better if you stayed here,” said Sam, pointing to a chair in front of him.

Reluctantly, Castiel walked toward the chair and sat on it. Dean was right next to Sam, staring at him and waiting for answers.

“How did you get in that stable?” he asked in a harsh tone. “Why did you enter it? Did you want to steal the horse?”

“Dean, we already talked about that.” Started Sam.

“No, this makes complete sense. He needed the blanket, which resulted in him spooking the horse,” replied Dean.  
Castiel looked at both of them, lost. He couldn’t explain what had happened to him, right? Taking a breath, he thought of the stories he had recounted every time. It wasn’t the best but it had at least worked previous times.

“I don’t remember,” he said, panicking a bit at the thought of Sam and Dean noticing the lie. Even if I wasn’t his first lie, he was still sweating.  
Sam and Dean turned their heads toward him at the same time.

“I woke up there, naked, so I fetched the blanket and you know what happened next.”

“Right. You got drunk with some friends and you entered the stable, thinking it was your bed?”

“Dean...” sighed Sam. “You sure you don’t remember a thing?” Castiel nodded.   
Dean put his head in his hand and groaned. 

“You’re right, Sammy.”   
Sam and Cas turned their heads towards him, confused.

“I’m sorry, I should have listened to you. Well, let’s bring you to your room.”   
They were still looking at him, registering what he said.

“What? Close your mouth before you catch flies, Sammy.”

“You coming, Castiel?” Sam said while standing up.  
Castiel stood up, confused. That went way better than he had expected.

“Thank you,” he said while passing by Dean. Following Sam, Castiel acted as normally as he could until he could get out. Soon, hopefully.

* * *

Castiel was sitting in the dining room glaring at his bowl. Sam had put fish, bread, and vegetables in it. Vegetables! He’s a carnivore, damn it.

At least there was no more hesitation around whether Castiel was staying or leaving. In front of him, Dean was glaring at him. Smiling, Castiel threw in the towel and speared a carrot with his fork.

After he had eaten all his fish, half of his bread, and a few vegetables, Castiel asked. “I’m sorry, but can I get back to my room?” 

Dean looked up at him, eyebrows furrowed. “You need not ask, you know. You already finished?”

“I was not very hungry,” he said as he stood up and headed toward the door.

* * *

Lying on the bed, Castiel was waiting for Dean and Sam to get to their respective rooms.  
Once he heard the doors shut, he opened his palm and looked at the key in it. While Dean and Sam were eating, he had entered Dean’s room. It had taken some time and they had almost caught him, but he had managed to grab the key.

There was still a burn on his hand. With any luck, the same thing wouldn’t happen when he tried to open the door.

His hand still hidden by the sleeve, he slipped out of his room on tip-toes. Seeing almost nothing in the dark, he tried to find his way to the main door using the wall.

After a few minutes of fumbling, he caught a glimpse of a huge wooden door ahead of him. Finally, he thought.

But at that exact moment, light illuminated the corridor. Dean was standing in front of the door, holding a lantern.

“You thought I wouldn’t notice my key disappearing?”

“I’m sorry, I just...”

“You know, you can go if you wish. No one will stop you from going back to a bar, getting drunk, and finding yourself naked in a stable. Again.”  
Castiel giggled at the remark but for an unknown reason, he felt dissatisfied. It felt too easy.

“So, are you staying or are you leaving?” He looked up and noticed a sigil painted in red on the door.

“I’m staying,” he sighed. In front of him, Dean raised his eyebrows.

“Ok. You should go back to your room, then,” he said. When they arrived at the end of the corridor, Castiel turned back to observe the sigil.

* * *

  
Castiel was lying in the bed, again. He couldn’t get out. Even worse, Dean and Sam were probably hunters.

Maybe they are those paranoid kinds of humans, doing everything to protect themselves from demons. Castle smiled and turned around. I’m safe; he thought as he closed his eyes, ready to sleep.

Please, tell me they are neither hunters nor witches, he prayed.


	3. Chapter 3

Unlike his younger brother, Dean had never been a morning person. That day wasn’t any different. Staying up late was never a problem. But waking up early? A nightmare.

As he got off his bed, he remembered their guest, who was sleeping in the room next to his. It used to be their parents who had rested there.

He then remembered Castiel’s attempt to run away. Why had he declined Dean’s offer to let him go?

Everything about him was odd, from sleeping naked in a stable to frowning at the food they’d provided him. Jeez, he hoped he could get his clothes back soon. The clothes weren’t even Castiel’s size.

His stomach growling, he heads to the room where Castiel was sleeping. After banging on the door, he heard a grunt.

“Get up! Breakfast!” Dean called.  
Another grunt sounded, which made Dean chuckle. At least he wasn’t the only who didn’t appreciate mornings. A few minutes after, Castiel opened the door, wearing Dean’s clothes. 

He looked a bit adorable in them and... Ok, maybe he could keep them a little longer.

“Let’s go,” Dean says, walking towards the dining room, not caring if the other man follows his instructions or not. Still not fully awake, Castiel tried to keep up with him. Sam was already there and had obviously been eating long before his brother woke up.

“Finally! I was about to make sure you guys were still alive.”

“You are the only person I know who is a morning freak,” Dean grumbled at his little brother while he put assorted fruits into his and Castiel’s bowl.

“I love you too,” Sam chuckled

Like the day before, Castiel glared at his food like he wished to kill it.

“Soooo, Castiel. Why didn’t you leave last night?” Next to him, Sam frowned.

“I changed my mind,” he said, then looked around, mouth opening and closing a few times. 

“My original plan was to get out as soon as I could. But you let me stay, have a bed of my own and even...” He looked at his bowl warily. “Food.”

“Wait, you wanted to leave? And you stuck around for the food and bed? What conditions do you live in?”

“It’s complicated?”  
“We aren’t getting any other information, are we?” Dean sighed. “Anyway, I need to do some research in the library. Are you coming, Castiel?”

Castiel raised his head, confused, but followed him anyway.

* * *

Dean was studying another book. There was nothing that could help them. He glanced at Castiel, who was picking up random books. Sitting in front of Dean, he started to read it at a rapid pace with only his fingers peeking out of the sleeves of his borrowed shirt.

“Why are all of your books about creatures?” Castiel asked out of the blue. Dean hesitated for a few seconds. Was it a good idea to tell him that he and Sam hunt those monsters?

“Castiel, do you believe in them? The creatures in those books?”

“Of course. Why?”

“Sam and I, we hunt them.” There was a silence between them as Castiel was staring blankly at him.

“What do you mean by that?”

“They’re dangerous. Some of them will eat your heart, some others will take your appearance after they kill you.” Castiel was staring at him, his eyes wide and hands clinging to the edges of the dinner table.

“Sorry. Shouldn’t have mentioned all of this to you. Let’s talk about something else.” A silence fell between them.

“Do you have anyone waiting for you? Family? A wife? Or even friends?” he asked, hoping for an answer. He wasn’t in the habit of talking about the personal lives of himself or others. 

Except for Sam, Bobby and the Harvelles, no one was interested in what he thought or felt, anyway.

“Family,” Castiel answered, still reading the book in front of him. This would be more difficult than Dean had thought.

“Then why don’t you go back? They must be worried.”

“Not yet.”

“Who the fuck wouldn’t worry if someone disappeared for a day?”

“My family.”  
“You aren’t much of a talker, are you?”

“I’m sorry, I am not great at small talk.” Then why had he asked those questions about hunting? There was something Castiel wasn’t telling him.

“Right. You know, I was only curious,” he replied instantly. In front of him, Castiel immediately went back to his book on sigils.

Dean had been looking at very boring texts for almost half an hour when he finally found something. Staring at Castiel, who was reading another book on sigils, he went to fetch Sam. Please tell me I’m wrong, he thought, as he glanced back at Castiel. He could see confusion written on Castiel’s face.

“Sammy! I found something interesting.” His brother was also doing research in another part of the library. Getting his attention, he continued, “Do you remember that coven we found last year?”

“The one that kidnapped newborn babies?” Dean nodded. That case has been one of the most horrible ones they had ever worked. Dean sighed and handed the book to Sam he had been reading.

“I found this in one of the books we took from them. Does it remind you of something?” Dean pointed at a sentence and Sam read it silently.

“You think that girl who died was a psychic?” he asked.

“Why would anyone steal people’s eyes except for a spell?” He hated witches. Couldn't they just use herbs instead of body parts?

“I don’t know. I don’t have an eyeball collection,” Sam said. His brother was staring at him and sighed.

Dean looked behind him. Something had been nagging him since he had talked with Cas.

“Isn’t it odd that Cas just appeared out of nowhere?”

“You think he’s a creature? How would he enter our home?”

“He could have sent a human to destroy the sigil! He could be part of a coven or a werewolf pack. Man, I don’t know, ok? Something about him is just off. I talked to him and he avoided as many of my questions as he could.”

“He is definitely hiding something, but I don’t believe he’s dangerous. Maybe we should trust him a bit more.” 

Dean nodded and thanked Sam. He started to head back to where he was an instant before his brother called for him.

“Hey Dean, since when do you call him Cas?”   
He went stiff for a moment. He hadn’t noticed the change. “Shut up, bitch!”

“Jerk!” Sam chuckled.


	4. Chapter 4

They were hunters. He was in the same house than hunters. If Castiel stayed too long is family will come and there will be carnage. He should have taken Dean's proposition and leave. But now it was too late as he knew what the brothers did for a living. It would be suspicious if he ran away. And what about the sigil? The book he had been reading was laying in front of him, on the table. 

On the first page, a sigil was drawn. It was similar to the one the main door. On the second one, there was a description. When Castiel had read those lines, he cursed. If any creature tried to open something wich had this sigil on it, they hand will burn. If he had left his hand on the window he could have lost it. There are more discrete things than a burned hand. And now Dean was gone. 

With every minute who passed, Castiel was getting more and more nervous. Did he figured everything out? Or at least that he was a monster like he said? Next time he won't follow humans. If there is a next time. At some point, Castiel stood up and put the book away. 

Better wait in the room and get prepared to defend himself in case of need. If they do hunt him he won't have any chance to survive. But he will refuse to surrender. If he dies, he will die fighting. He had found in Sam's room a small dagger, that he could hide easily in his pocket. A loud banging on the door startled him.

"Come in." He said, putting his hand in his pocket and gripping the dagger.   
It was Dean who opened the door and leaned on it. The hunter stared at his shoes for a bit. He didn't seem to have any weapon on him.

"I'm sorry." Shocked, Castiel froze He must have heard wrong.  
"What?"  
"I apologize about earlier. I shouldn't have asked all these questions. And I should have trusted you more. I thought you were here to kill us or something like that." At that sentence, Cas let go slowly of the dagger. That wasn't exactly what he expected. He was an idiot.

"Apologies accepted. You want to come in?" That was the worse idea he ever had. He is an idiot. Dean seemed as shocked as him that Cas made that offer.

"Sure. Why not." The hunter closed the door behind him and stepped forward. He stopped in front of Castiel, looking around and playing nervously with his fingers.

"You wanna hum... Sit down?" Castiel had no idea what to do. His first plan hadn't work and he just destroyed his second one.  
They both sat down next to each other, not knowing what to talk about. It's Dean who broke the ice.

"So, where are you from?"  
"What?" Can asked, taken by surprise.  
"Where do you live?" I mean before you got in our house?"  
"I live near the lake Sarnen. With my family."  
"I know that one. It's where I found that horse I thought you stoled. What were the odds?"

Castiel went still at the mention of the event. He should have been more cautious. Maybe he could tell him the truth will omitting some small elements. And modification others.  
"Yes. It's a nice place." He answered.   
"Do you have siblings?"  
"Yeah, I do. A lot." He chuckled. In total they were eight There was Anna, Gabriel, Lucifer, Michael, Raphael, Balthazar and another Hannah. How his parents manage to have that many kids, is still a mystery.  
Silence fell between them, again. Castiel looked away, searching for something to say.

"Dean?" He asked. Dean flinched at the sound. "Do you like it? Hunting?"  
"Not really. Bad things happen to you with that job. And you know, you will never have a normal life again. Still, it feels good when you can save people and not letting all that crap in their life."  
"So you prefer sacrificing yourself than having other people living this life?"  
"Well someone has to do it." That was unexpected. There is more about him this thought hunter image he conveys.

"Why did you started?" The hunter was looking at the ceiling, silently. For a few seconds, Castiel thought that he went too far.   
However, Dean told him about his parents. How his mother died, burned alive by a demon. How it destroyed, slowly his father. Dean and Sam learning about hunting at a very young age. His father sacrificing himself for Dean.

Castiel stared at him as he counted his story. As he was studying his face a bit longer, he realized that it was covered in freckles.  
"Hum, Cas?" Castiel perked up as he heard his name. Suddenly, he realized how close he was to the hunter's face.

"Personal space?" He immediately jumped away from Dean, blushing. What was happening to him? He was becoming too close to the hunter. In both sense of the term.

"I'm sorry but I'm tired." He said as he stood up in one move. "Can you get out, please?" Dean was sitting on the bed confused before standing up reluctantly opening the door. As he got out of the room he turned his head and stared at Cas for a few seconds. And then he was gone.

-1 week later  
They resolved their case thanks to Cas who seem to know a lot about the supernatural world. He had heard about another physic, Missoury Moseley that lived in the village. Cas had begged Sam to come but he had refused. It was too dangerous for him to come. When they arrived at the psychic's home, they found Missouri sitting in a corner, a cup of hydromel in hand as she already knows what would happen.

-2 weeks later  
Dean is in the library, again. He had to know if his doubts on Castiel were founded. Speaking of which Castiel entered the library at this exact moment.

"Dean, Sam asked me to go search for you." Well, that one on the only thing he said to him. The last two weeks he had only discussed with Sam. Wich seemed puzzled about what was happening.  
"I'm coming." Cas rapidly turned around and got out of the rooms quick as he could.

The hunter turned back and looked at the book which was still opened on the table. There was a drawing on it of a man turning in a horse.

-1 month later  
Castiel was helping the brother more and more in their cases. He was starting to become a bigger part of their life. Dean had been watching him from the end of the dining room where he was chatting with Sam about the difference between pureblood werewolves and the one who was bitten. 

He told them is parents are retired hunters as a reason why he knows so much about the supernatural world. But Dean was sure it was because he is a creature, probably a kelpie. A bit after the last time they talk he decided He should tell his brother about it. But it would certainly end Cas being hurt or even worse. His death.

-3 months later  
Castiel was laying in his bed. He had been unable to sleep for the last three days. At this point, his family must be organizing a search party. And at this point, he was getting too much attached to the brothers. He couldn't not care. Especially Dean. As much as he tried to avoid him he couldn't stop thinking about him. It became harder and harder to ignore Dean with every day that passed. At least he was gone this morning to see however this Bobby was. He had insisted that Sam finally have a new horse. Especially because of their new case. On the last one, they captured a vampire, who gave them a track on the vampire alpha. Alphas were the first of creatures lineage. 

When Dean And he promised to not bring any horse he found on the way. Suddenly a sound got him out of his daydream. He looked outside while trying to not touch the window. He could see a silhouette in front of the main door. It was probably Sam. It won't be the first time the hunter would get out and look at the sky. Castiel lays back in bed, desperately trying to get some sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

After four hours of travelling, Dean had finally showed up at Bobby’s house. It was his and Sam’s second home. When they were kids, they would pass their time here if their father was on a case that was too perilous for them.

His happiest childhood’s memories were in this house. Once, on his birthday, his uncle came back with a black foal. He had shown Dean how to tame a horse and taught him how to ride one. To this day, he was still riding Impala.

He knocked on the door and waited for Bobby to answer. As soon as the other man opened the door, he grinned and pulled Dean into a tight embrace.

“What are you doing here, son?” Bobby asked, smiling.

“Sam’s horse passed on a case. He needs a new one.”   
His uncle shook his head and rolled his eyes. 

“You idjits should learn how to take care of your horses.”

“It’s Sam who doesn’t know how to! Baby is fit and healthy!” Dean defended himself.  
Thankfully, his brother wasn’t here or he would have teased him about giving his horse a pet name.

* * *

After finally choosing a new horse for Sam, Bobby offered to let Dean stay at his home for the night. During supper, Bobby kept staring at Dean, his eyebrows furrowed. “What’s her name?” 

The hunter freezes, his brain stopping for a moment. “What are you talking about?”

“Come on, Dean. I know you. I can see you’re worried about something.”

The last three months had been odd. Dean couldn’t find out why Castiel was ignoring him after Dean had prompted him to talk. If he wanted Dean to ignore that he was a creature, why now? After assuring Bobby that he was fine, his uncle gave him a look of disbelief. Dean couldn’t hide him anything.

“There’s someone new in the house and the last time we talked was three months ago. Since then, for a reason I don’t know, he doesn’t want to talk to me anymore,” he said as quickly as possible.

“Could you repeat that, slower this time?” Bobby asked, trying to figure out what Dean was telling him.

Dean sighed and recounted what had happened. He omitted some details and changed others. Bobby knowing about his suspicions regarding Cas being a creature could cost Castiel his life. If it were someone else, Dean would have denounced him as soon as he was aware of it.

A part of himself was telling him that he should do it, but at the same time, he didn’t regret it. When he finished, neither he nor Bobby said anything for a few minutes.

“Well, I wasn’t expecting that,” Bobby whispered. “You should ask your brother to talk to him. Anyway, seems like you’re affected by this a lot. How did he touch Dean Winchester’s heart? I thought that was impossible. ”

The hunter chuckled. This had gone way better than he had expected. In his mind, Bobby would have told him to get his shit together. His idea could work. Speaking with Cas was almost impossible.  
Dean couldn’t follow him everywhere and force him to talk. The only problem would be Sam. He would never stop teasing Dean if he knew what was going on.

“Right, like you don’t have a soft spot for Ellen.” Dean made Bobby blush, which rarely happened. Bobby would often pretend to be sick so he could see the healer. She must have noticed a long time ago. Dean suspected that Ellen wasn’t saying anything because she also had a soft spot for him.

Dean, Sam, and Ellen’s daughter Jo had made bets on how long it would take them to get together. Jo had said three years, Sam had insisted it would be five, and Dean wagered longer than five years. He had won. Now that he’s thinking of it, they should really do something about it.

* * *

Castiel had just fallen asleep when a loud noise woke him up. Someone was shouting and it sounded like a fight. When he realized that it was Sam who was shouting, he knew he had to get out of the house as soon as he could.

Silently, he opened his door and took a peek into the corridor. He tried to understand what was happening and if he could help Sam with whatever was attacking him. Suddenly, the noises stopped and six people emerged from Sam’s room.

One of them was unconscious and Cas recognised him as a hunter that had stopped by the house before. One intruder turned his head towards Castiel but didn’t seem to notice him. Castiel closed the door of his room as quietly as possible.

At that point, he only had one way to get out of this situation: he had to change into his horse form. He undressed as quickly as he could manage.

Normally, he would need to concentrate on shifting, but that wasn’t the case now because of the danger of the situation. It had all happened so quickly that Castiel was having a hard time breathing. He could feel his limbs and his hair growing, the form of his face changing. 

The main thing he was feeling was pain, though. Everything from his skin to all of his bones were changing at the same time in his body. Even after all these years, he was still not used to it. 

Suddenly, the door of his room was kicked open. He must have made too much noise and drawn attention. Thankfully, he just had the time to finish his transformation.

At the sight of him, the intruders froze. Castiel took advantage of it and kicked one of them with his hoof. Galloping toward the main door, he searched for Sam, but he was nowhere to see.

Castiel ran away from the house reluctantly and hid in the woods nearby. He could wait for Dean’s return and possibly help to thwart an attack against Sam.

What would happen when Dean came back? Getting back to the house was too dangerous in his horse form and he couldn’t come back, naked, in his human form. He didn’t know what would be worse:

how Dean would react when he learned that Castiel was a kelpie, or that intruders had kidnapped Sam and he hadn’t done anything?


	6. Chapter 6

Dean was giving Bobby one last embrace before going back home. He had thought a lot about Bobby’s idea. If asking Sam was the only way to talk to Cas, then Dean would ask him. The only downside was that Sam would never let him forget his feelings for Cas. 

Speaking of his brother, his new horse was following with no problem. It was odd for Dean to think that a few months before, the horse that he was bringing back home was probably Cas. 

However, if his theory was correct, everything would make sense. Finding him in the stable, naked under a horse blanket, and his large knowledge of the supernatural. The closer he got to home, the more nervous he became.

####

When Dean arrived, he knew immediately that there was a problem. The main door was wide open. They are always cautious about that. The sigil would be useless if they let the door open. You don’t want monsters to enter your home in the middle of the night, after all. 

Dean got off his horse and tied the horse’s lead to a tree, then drew his sword and walked toward the house. 

The first thing he noticed was the sigil. Someone had destroyed it. He immediately ran into the house, searching for any trace of Sam and Castiel. 

His brother’s room was turned upside down. Books were on the floor, chairs were knocked over, and an amulet was broken on the floor. There had obviously been a fight and Sam was nowhere to be seen.

“Sam! Castiel!” he shouted as he opened the door to the room where Cas had been living these last months. He almost expected them to jump from a hiding place and scream Surprise! It didn’t happen. 

The clothes he had given to Cas were discarded on the floor. When he saw the blood on the floor, the hunter dreaded the worst.

Outside of the house, a horse neighed, sounding panicked. As the hunter turned around, he realised it was neither Impala nor the new horse that had made that noise. A black horse was galloping towards them. 

It was the one Dean had brought a few months ago, the one he suspected to be Cas. He stopped right in front of the hunter and started to write something in the ground with his hoof. CASTIEL. 

He had suspected it but having the confirmation made his heart ache. He hadn’t thought about how he would react if he had the evidence. 

When he suspected it, Dean had protected Castiel all along and now he regretted it. The other man, or more precisely creature, had lied to them. Castiel interrupted his train of thought when he wrote something else. SAM GONE. As he read the inscription, the hunter went mad. Nobody hurt his little brother. 

Pointing his sword to Castiel’s throat, he shouted, “What happened? Where is Sam? Did you hurt him? I knew that we shouldn’t have trusted you.”

The horse stepped back and shook his head.

“What are you... I can’t understand you when you’re like this. Just fucking change!”

Castiel wrote something again, but this time his hoof was shaking. CLOTHES.

Dean stared at the inscription for a few seconds before it hit him. He was naked when Dean had meet him. Interrogating Cas in his birthday suit under a horse blanket, again, is not on Dean’s bucket list.

But he couldn’t leave Castiel there with no monitoring. One part of himself was telling him that Cas came to see him of his own free will. He wouldn’t need to attack Sam if he wanted to hurt him. Sam trusted him. The other part insisted that Dean would put himself in great danger if he didn’t keep an eye on the creature. The first part won, though he didn’t put his sword away.

“Don’t move. I am going to get your clothes.”  
When he came back, he noticed that Cas was still in the same place. 

“You can go hide behind the house if you want,” he told him. Castiel nodded and obeyed. 

Once the hunter couldn’t see him, he threw the clothes to him. A sound like bones cracking resonated behind him. Grunts of pain that almost made Dean turn and check if Cas was fine followed it. The hunter closed his eyes and waited. He tried not to pay attention to the noises without success.

Finally, it stopped and he could hear Castiel picking up the clothes and putting them.

“Dean?” he asked. “You can turn around.” When Dean did so, he saw Cas looking at him, anxiety in his eyes. “Dean, I can explain. I swear I didn’t hurt Sam and...” he started, obviously nervous.

“Yeah, and you’re a kelpie, right?” Castiel didn’t react for a few seconds, not knowing what to say. “Are you hurt?” Dean continued. “There was blood on the bedroom floor.”

“No. It isn’t mine,” Castiel answered.

“Who’s blood is it? Just tell me what happened to Sam.” The hunter’s grip on his sword was getting tighter and tighter. “Do you know where they went?”

“I have no idea. I think Sam was already gone when I began to flee.”

Dean looked around, lost. He didn’t understand what to do. This wasn’t a usual case. He didn’t have the time to sit down and search in books which monster was behind it. He wasn’t sure if he should trust Cas but he had no one else.

“We should go to the next village. Sam and I saved a psychic, Missouri, from a witch. Maybe she can help us. Get behind me on Baby’s back.”  
Dean didn’t give him any time to answer while he grabbed the horse he had bought from Bobby by the harness. He instructed Castiel to take Impala while he put the other horse in an empty stable. “Sorry Buddy, you won’t meet Sammy for a moment.”

Back in front of the house, Baby was giving Castiel a hard time. He had untied the harness, but Baby was galloping in a circle. Behind him, Cas was running behind her, trying to catch her. 

When she saw Dean, she trotted towards him. Castiel was exhausted and seemed disappointed that contrary to him, Dean had no problem with Baby.

“You coming or not?”

Castiel followed him and climbed onto Baby’s back behind Dean. He was gripping the other man’s waist tightly. If he wasn’t on a horse’s back, he would have felt embarrassed by it and, even if he would never admit it, pleased. But right now, the only thing he could concentrate on was not falling.


	7. Chapter 7

On Impala’s back, Castiel was having a hard time staying stable. He had never ridden a horse nor thought about doing so. At least he wasn’t alone on the horse, or he would have fallen a long time ago. What had happened in the last twenty-four hours was unbelievable. How had the hunter discovered that he was a kelpie? And how was he still alive? 

Dean was only mad at him about Sam’s kidnapping for a few minutes. They were finally approaching the village and Castiel was relieved. The torture would soon end. It was the first time Castiel had seen this village.

“Time to get off,” Dean announced. Castiel tried to get off of Impala’s back, but unlike the hunter, who got off the horse smoothly, he would have fallen face-first if Dean hadn’t caught him.

“Are you okay?” Dean asked him, chuckling.

“That was awful,” Castiel answered, watching Dean burst out laughing.

There was, in the small town, a market where peddlers were shouting to attract potential customers. Castiel was mesmerized by all that agitation. It was the first time he had been here. It was the first time he had been to any sort of human town. His family had avoided humans as much as they were able. 

The only exception was when they needed to eat but even then they would only take one human. He wished he could stop and observe how all this worked. However, finding Missouri and rescuing Sam were their priorities.

“Here we are,” Dean said as he raised his hand to knock on the door. Right before he could, the door opened and Missouri appeared.

“Come in. I was waiting for you,” she said.

“Do you have to do that every time?” Dean asked. The psychic simply nodded and smiled at him.

The house was small and cosy. On the living room table, there were three glasses of ale.

“What do you want?” The psychic asked them as she beckoned for them to sit down. “And yes, I am a psychic but that doesn’t mean I know every single thing, Castiel.” He stared at her, awestruck by what just happened. 

She had never met him before. Maybe Dean and Sam told her who he was during their case, but she had also answered his question before he had even asked it.

“Can, you tell me what they look like?” The question stops his train of thought. He wasn’t aware that Missouri and Dean had continued to talk.

“Like regular humans. But they could have been creatures.” Castiel told her.

“What looks human isn’t always human,” Missouri said. “There is this new girl in town, Alex. She is staying in the tavern downtown. She knows something.”

On their way to the tavern, Dean was telling Cas everything he should know about taverns. The hunter was hoping that they would find this Alex girl as soon as they arrived. They had already lost too much time. The tavern was full and Dean was looking around trying to figure out if any of the people inside were Alex. 

Behind him, Castiel looked completely lost. Dean realised that he had probably never stepped foot in a place like this. The crowd, the laughter and shouts coming from everywhere, and the strong smell of alcohol was too much for him.

“Hello, we’re searching for a woman named Alex. Do you know if she’s here right now?” Dean asked the bartender. The man had a weird haircut that we had never seen in his life. In the front, the hairs were cut short and in the back, his hair was much longer. In secret, Dean hoped that this haircut would never be a trend.

“She’s out. Alex leaves the tavern every morning. She only comes back late at night. If you want to talk to her, you’ll have to wait a few hours.” 

A few hours? The longer he waited, the longer they risked never seeing Sam again, or at least never seeing Sam alive again.There didn’t seem to be another choice, though.

“Give us two glasses of ale, then.” He leads Castiel towards an empty table.

“Dean? We are going to find Sam.” 

The hunter lifted his head and looked at Castiel. His blue eyes were filled with worry. “If he is still alive,” he answered as the bartender served them their ale.

Castiel sighed, glancing at the hunter who drank his ale in one gulp. Right now, all Dean could think about was the long time they would have to wait before Alex returned 

The only person who could help them find Sammy couldn’t come soon enough. The ache was getting stronger and he only knew one way to make it disappear.

“How did you know what I was?” Castiel asked him. 

He knew that Castiel would ask this question at some point. “After you explained to us why you knew so much about the supernatural, I had a gut feeling that something was wrong, so I started doing some research. It seems I had a good reason for it.”  
“Why didn’t you tell Sam?” 

Dean tried to grab his glass so he could ask for more alcohol. But he couldn’t find it. “Where is my glass?” Castiel’s glass had also disappeared, and then he saw the other man’s hands under the table. “Cas? Why are you hiding the ale? You’re not that discreet.”

“I know you are desperate to find Sam but it is not going to work if you’re drunk.” Cas sighed as he put the two glasses on the table. That sentence surprised Dean. Cas had ignored him for three months but he obviously cared for him. He did want to drink, but Castiel was right. 

Surprisingly, they slowly started to speak about their lives. Dean had a hard time getting an answer to some of his questions. He did learn that Castiel wasn’t very close with his family, at least. 

And Castiel’s only brother, Gabriel, had run away from their home a few years ago. His parents, however, hadn’t paid any attention to them most of the time. They were too busy with keeping their home safe so no hunters would be able to find them. 

It took them almost a week to realize that Gabriel had left the nest. Dean couldn’t imagine not having his brother around. In return, Dean told him about his parents, how his mom had died and how his dad had started to hunt with him and Sam. 

At the mention of his brother, he looked at the tavern’s door, just in case Alex passed it. He had, during the whole evening, kept an eye on it, but nobody had looked like Missouri’s description. 

The door opened again and Dean had almost jumped off his chair. The women who entered looked exactly like the description. He runs toward her, ignoring Castiel calling his name.

“Are you Alex?” The woman looked at him, startled. He should have been a little more polite, but if she knew what had happened to Sam or where he was, he couldn’t waste time.

“Do you know where Sam Winchester is?” Castiel asked afterwards. With that, Alex turned and bolted out of the tavern. They looked over at each other, Castiel seeming embarrassed by his mistake.

They followed her as quickly as they could despite the bewildered looks of the tavern’s owner and customers. They were losing her in the market’s crowd when Dean jumped forward and grabbed her by the wrist.

“You’re going to tell us what you know.”


	8. Chapter 8

Like Missouri said, Alex knew a lot of things. She knew what had happened and where Sam was. The young woman had been living near the castle of the Alpha vampire, who lived with a large family of vampires.

She was the one finding the victims for the family. Dean and Sam had ganked a vampire not long ago after learning about the vampire alpha’s existence. However, this vampire hadn’t informed them that the alpha could see through the eyes of every other vampire.

Because of that, he was the only person in the world who could unleash hundreds of vampires on them. And he knew where they lived and was aware of the sigil. That’s where Alex came into play.

She had been brought to the Alpha and he had asked her to destroy the sigil in exchange for her liberty. Of course, she had accepted the offer as soon as she heard it. As a result, the vampires had entered the Winchester house to kidnap both brothers. Since she did what she was told to do, Alex didn’t have any news about the family that kept her orthe Alpha.

The group was living in a castle that was three hours away on horseback. After this explanation, Dean had insisted that the young woman show him and Castiel the way.

With what Alex recounted to them, it was clear that she didn’t want to go back. At the same time, they had no idea how to get in that castle without being noticed or how to get to Sam, hopefully still alive.

However, because Alex refused to change her mind, Dean proposed a deal: they would leave her alone but only once she showed them the way and gave them a layout of the manor.

It was for this reason that Castiel was again riding Baby while holding onto Dean so he wouldn’t fall. He still hated it. Riding in front of them on her horse, Alex was showing them the way. She could easily lead them into a trap but it was their only chance, and Missouri must know what she’s doing.

Dean hadn’t said a word since they had gotten on their horses. It seemed he was keeping an eye on Alex so she couldn’t betray them, but Castiel knew better. With the seconds, minutes and hours that passed, Dean would fear the worst more and more. He had already lost his mother and his father. He couldn’t lose someone else, especially not Sam. Dean had raised his brother on his own.

Alex stopped as soon as they saw the castle’s door.

“Are you sure he’s there?” Dean asked.

“No, but if they captured your brother, then he must be here.”

Dean got off his horse and made a sign toward Castiel and Alex to follow his lead. Castiel glanced at the woman next to him. She looked like she wanted to run away as she observed her surroundings warily.

His impression was confirmed when she gave them the map. The two watched her rush toward her horse and leave in a hurry. Now alone and hidden, Dean got the map out.

On it, Alex had drawn the entrance of a secret passageway at the back of the castle. The young woman had explained that said entry was old and forgotten. She had stumbled on it by chance. However, she had never used it to escape, too scared for her life. Dean and Castiel looked at each other.

They were on their own and were heading in the unknown. It wasn’t the first time the Winchester brothers had been separated. However, for Dean, it was the first time he was hunting with someone other than his brother.

And for Cas, well, it was his first time hunting at all. He trusted Dean and he knew that he wouldn’t use him as bait at the first occasion. Yet anxiety overwhelmed him. If anyone got hurt or worse, killed, it would be his fault.

* * *

Alex hadn’t lied when she said the entry was old. It was a tunnel covered in the dust where they couldn’t see a damn thing. They were following the walls and holding onto each other so they wouldn’t fall or get lost.

After a few minutes of stumbling in the dark, they finally found the end of it. Dean peeked out and saw a long, empty corridor. They emerged on their tip-toes, dust and cobwebs on their clothes and in their hair.

Dean looked at the map again, searching for a place where Sam could be. The castle’s cells weren’t too far away but no one would have left such places unguarded.

* * *

It had been a complete disaster. They found Sam after having killed some vampires that were between them and the cells. However, as they tried to get out as quickly they could, they encountered some monsters.

Alerted by the noises, they had found Dean, Sam and Castiel. Dean and Sam had looked at Castiel for a few seconds. When they heard a muffled bang, they had turned around. Castiel had been lying on the floor having been hit on the head. Seeing this, Dean had launched himself at Castiel’s assailant without thinking.

Right now, they were running down the corridor, hoping to reach the secret passage before the vampires could reach them. At first, Dean and Sam had intended to destroy the nest and the Alpha with it, but Castiel wasn’t waking up.

Dean shouldn’t have brought Castiel here in the first place. He had never hunted anyone or anything in his life. Castiel had informed him that once, when he was a kid, his father had shown him how he killed humans. Castiel had refused to go with him to any human hunt or to eat humans again. His parents and the rest of his family hadn’t taken it well. Dean knew that.

Still, it hadn’t crossed his mind to leave Castiel at Missouri’s house. He could have even sent him to Bobby’s, his uncle would have taken good care of Castiel.

As they were leaving, Dean realized something: they only had one horse for three people, and the one who was capable of transforming into a horse was passed out.

A few seconds after stepping out of the passage, Sam took a few steps back. A woman he didn’t know was heading toward them on her horse.

“Alex? What are you doing here?” Dean shouts.

“I knew it was a bad idea to leave you here alone. So I came back.”

Sam was standing between his brother and Alex, not knowing what to do. It seemed like Dean had a lot to recount later.

It was a miracle, one of them was injured but they could get out of there without all three of them being stuck on one horse.

“Sam, this is Alex, Alex this is my brother Sam. Now, Sam, you go with Alex. I’ll go on Baby with Castiel. We have to go to Ellen before it’s too late.” Alex opened her mouth but Dean was quicker than her. “She’s a healer, I’ll show you the way.”

Once on Baby, Dean cast a glance at Castiel. He would never forgive himself if the kelpie didn’t wake up.


	9. Chapter 9

Dean was pacing in front of Ellen’s house. It had been roughly half an hour since they had gotten there and Castiel was still unconscious. 

According to Ellen, he wouldn’t wake up before a few hours but he would heal. Even with the good news, Dean couldn’t stop worrying. What if Castiel woke with no memory or couldn’t speak or walk anymore? 

Tired of him pacing, Jo, Ellen’s daughter, had kicked him out of her house until he calmed down. He wasn’t calming down. On the contrary, not being able to see what was going on inside was driving him crazy. Two days passed and Dean was becoming more and more restless and he wasn’t the only one. 

Because the threat of vampires finding them was still present, the farthest anyone could go was into Ellen’s garden. Sam, Dean, Alex and Jo were doing everything to protect the house. The morning of the third day, Dean was woken up by Alex shaking him and calling his name. 

Sam had tried to stop her, knowing that under no circumstances it was a good idea to wake Dean this way. But Alex, pleased with the good news, hadn’t paid attention to what he said.   
Because of the hunting life, one of Dean’s reflexes was to always sleep with a knife, which resulted in a half-asleep Dean threatening Alex with a knife before the hunter realized what was happening. 

It took a few seconds for Alex to calm down after Dean put away his knife and rambled an apology.

“Castiel woke up.”

After hearing these words, Dean ran as fast as he could, despite Castiel being in the same house as him. Before he could enter the room where Castiel was resting, Ellen grabbed him by the arm.

“Dean, the first thing he did when he woke up was ask for you. If you have feelings for him, and I know you do, tell him. Understood?”

Dean blinked at her and smiled before nodding. Right before opening the door he told Ellen, “You should do the same with Bobby.” The healer had never blushed so hard in her entire life.

The first thing Dean saw when he opened the door was Castiel lying on the bed, a bandage around his head. He was staring at Dean. They stayed like that for a few minutes, looking at each other.

“Thank you,” said Castiel.

“Thank you, for what?” Dean asked with a sigh..

“For everything. Not kicking me out even when you know I am not human. And for saving my life.”

“I didn’t do anything. It was Ellen, the healer. She was the one who patched you up.” Castiel sighed and shook his head. He hoped Dean would realize one day what a good person he was. Castiel would do anything to make sure he realized.

“Cas?” The kelpie looked at him, curious. “I need to talk to you. And I know that if I don’t Sam and Ellen are going to kick my ass, or are going to do it for me. I don’t know which is worse.” He chuckled. “When I saw you unconscious on the floor, something snapped. I couldn’t lose you, as strange as that may seem.” Dean couldn’t look at Castiel. I’m confessing not kicking him out, he thought as he tried to calm down. The words weren’t coming out. 

Because of that, he decided that showing Castiel was a better idea. It’s for that reason that Dean ended up kissing a surprised Castiel. Both of them couldn’t believe what was happening. 

Confused for a few seconds, Castiel kissed back and pulled Dean closer. Dean’s nervousness faded the second Castiel responded and delight replaced it. After a moment they parted and looked at each other, blushing and grinning.

“Is it weird that I’m happy that I was hit on the head?” Castiel asked, still dazed by what happened had happened, making Dean chuckle.


	10. Chapter 10

Castiel couldn’t see Dean and Impala anymore. One of their newfound activities was exploring the woods. Castiel would transform in his horse form and Dean would ride Impala.

As he was galloping, Castiel remembered what had happened this last year.  
With Alex’s help and a bunch of other hunters, they had killed the vampire Alpha. Afterwards, Alex went to live with the other hunters. She had found a home where she could be safe and herself.

When the Winchesters went back home, with a fully healed Castiel, someone visited them: Gabriel, Castiel’s older brother. He had heard about his disappearance and decided to find him before the rest of the family. It would have been nice, except that he arrived during an intimate moment.

“Gabriel! What the hell are you doing here?” Castiel shouted after hearing Dean’s high pitched scream. Seeing the only brother that he was close to after all those years would have been good news, but not now when he was naked from head to toe, in bed.

“You know, when father and mother told us that if we were ever caught by a human, we had to get their trust, they didn’t mean that,” Gabriel answered.

“Get the fuck out of here!” Gabriel bolted out of the bedroom under the glares of the two bewildered men.

“How the hell did he get in here?” asked Dean, who was still hiding under the covers, staring at the door in case Gabriel came back.

“I have no idea. Gabriel always knew how to get into places he wasn’t allowed to be in.”  
In the seconds that followed, the two men heard Sam shouting in the distance. He had stumbled upon Gabriel and the last time strangers had entered their home, it hadn’t ended well.

Cas arrived at the spot where he was supposed to meet Dean, noticing his victory in arriving first.

He was admiring the view when he heard another horse galloping in the distance. Dean was smiling proudly, believing that he had won. The moment he saw Castiel, his smile faltered.

“Oh come on, I’m sure that cheated this time!”

Well, Castiel does know about a short-cut, not that he would ever admit that to Dean. He was still rambling about how Castiel must have cheated until Cas put his snout on Dean’s head to shut him up.

He would never have expected that, finding a family and a loving, adoring partner. When he thought of that, the thought of going back to his old life never even crossed his mind.


End file.
